Back to a normal Burbank Monday and Foodie Philip was at In and Out Burger for a Double Double Animal Style for $4.27.

Dinner

We still had some of the Kabocha squash that we’d baked and added more to it to create a variation of the Smokey Cheese and Pumpkin Slice, that was a quiche than the savory cake that the recipe normally makes.

The recipe still makes four generous serves.

The bacon was $6.99 for 12 slices, and we used five, or 73c per serve

Three pastured eggs at 55c each is 41c per serve

The kabocha squash was $1.74 each (we used 1.5), or 65c per serve

Smoked gouda slices were $2.99 and we used half or 38c per serve

Half and half was $1.39 per pint, but we used 1/4 or 9c per serve

An onion adds 8c per serve.

Dinner tonight was filling and tasty. Foodie Philip served with some “fry bread” (slices of bread ‘toasted’ with butter in the sandwich toaster), which added 32c to his meal, otherwise it was $2.34 per serve.

Due to some strangeness at Maggiano’s that involved an extra past dish that we ultimately bought home, so we reheated it and served with some spinach, bacon lardons and a poached egg. The Alfredo was very good and the egg melded into the sauce for a really rich result.

The Fettuccini came free

Bacon is $5.49 for the pack of 8 slices and we used two each, or $1.38 per serve

The spinach was $1.99 and we used half or 50c per serve

A pastured egg is 55c and we averaged 1.5, or 83c per serve.

Lunch was surprisingly good – and a good time to have carbs – for a net cost of $2.71 per serve.

Dinner

We decided to try Pioneer Woman’s Creamy Mushroom Soup and it turned out really well. We got three serves from our modified recipe.

Sliced portabello mushrooms were $3.29 or $1.10 per serve

Sliced white mushrooms were $1.49 or 50c per serve

Half and half was $1.39 per pint, but we used 1/2 or 24c per serve

Chicken stock is $1.99 or 67c per serve

The butter is $3.99 per block, and we used about 1/2, or 67c per serve

Add 33c per serve for sherry

Add 10c for flour

Add 30c for onion, celery, garlic and thyme.

The soup had a lot of mushroom flavor, which was what we were going for. Excellent for $3.91 per serve.

12 slices of yoghurt cheese are $4.79 and we shared one or 20c per serve

The turkey pastrami was $11.27 for 15 oz and we used three, or $1.13 per serve

The Bubbies (natural) Sauerkraut is expensive at $6.99 or 22c per serve, but it is a very superior sauerkraut without the bad odor of most sauerkraut

The lamb and lentil mix is $3.00 per serve and we used under 1/4 or 38c per serve

Add 20c for hummus

Add 20c for cocktail sauce.

Lunch today was good, with the cocktail sauce being a worthwhile addition. All in lunch cost $2.65 per serve.

Dinner

Friends from Australia invited us to join them at Maggiano’s Little Italy at the Grove. Foodie Philip had the Filet, Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto, which was very good, while Greg had the Veal Piccata, which he also enjoyed.

Food was very good, company was excellent and the service friendly and attentive. Just what you want from a night out. Our friends paid for dinner.

Today’s toasted sandwiches repeated the Lentil & Lamb with Hummus and Turkey Pastrami, except today we added a little cocktail sauce to the Turkey Pastrami to make it a little more like a Reuben (or more correctly, since it’s made with Turkey Pastrami, a Rachel).

Two slices of bread are 32c per serve

12 slices of yoghurt cheese are $4.79 and we shared one or 20c per serve

The turkey pastrami was $11.27 for 15 oz and we used three, or $1.13 per serve

The Bubbies (natural) Sauerkraut is expensive at $6.99 or 22c per serve, but it is a very superior sauerkraut without the bad odor of most sauerkraut

The lamb and lentil mix is $3.00 per serve and we used under 1/4 or 38c per serve

Add 20c for hummus

Add 20c for cocktail sauce.

Lunch today was good, with the cocktail sauce being a worthwhile addition. All in lunch cost $2.65 per serve.

Dinner

Time to slice and fry the remaining chili meatloaf. We decided to treat is as if it were chili and serve with avocado, sour cream (labné), cheddar and spring onions. It worked really well and the meatloaf fried off with a really good crust.

The meatloaf was $5.28 per serve

The avocado was 4 for $3.49 or 44c per serve

Add 20c for labné

Add 30c for cheddar

Add 10c for spring onion.

Dinner tonight was really tasty. The crust on the meatloaf added a lot of texture and flavor, with the sides adding balance to the dish. Good eating for $6.32 per serve.

A gray, windy day is soup weather and today Trader Joe’s Clam Chowder, made with half and half, and a freshly baked rustic roll really hit the spot.

Par-baked roll is 63c

The clam chowder is $1.69 a can or 85c per serve

The Half and Half is $1.39 per pint, and we used 3/4 or 53c per serve.

It was a very satisfying lunch for $2.01 per serve.

Dinner

Thursday night “steak” night was dedicated to pork chops from our Prather Ranch meat delivery. Two small chops were souse vidé to just below cooked, then fried off in butter to get a golden brown finish, over which we drizzled a balsamic reduction.

We served with baked kabocha squash, which was new for us, and sugar snap peas. We liked the squash. The skin was crispy and the flesh full of flavor without being at all mealy.

The pork chops were $12.89 or $6.45 per serve

The kabocha squash was $1.74 but we only served half, or 44c per serve

Sugar snap peas were $3.99 but we only used half, or $1.00 per serve.

A thoroughly enjoyable meal with a good balance between the pork, squash and sugar snap peas. The combination of peas and squash was particularly good. Most enjoyable for $7.89 per serve.

Once we have a ripe avocado we need to make two sandwiches with it before it goes off, so today we paired half the avocado with a pouch of lemon pepper salmon on one and sun dried tomatoes, avocado and turkey breast on the other. The turkey breast was almost redundant, adding little to the flavor or texture.

Two slices of bread are 32c per serve

The smoked turkey was $2.99 for 7oz and we used about 2oz or 43c per serve

The avocado was 4 for $3.49 or 44c per serve

The salmon was $2.79 or $1.40 per serve

The sun dried tomatoes were $5.99 and we used about 1/6 or 50c per serve

Add 10c for butter.

Today’s sandwiches were very tasty with both of us preferring the avocado and sun dried tomatoes, even without the turkey breast. Not bad for $3.19 per serve.

Dinner

Tonight was LACPUG night so we eat pizza at Polermo’s afterwards, and all contribute $5.00 each.

Because it was the weekend we added egg(s) to our flatbread quesadilla with the cider braised pork.

The flatbreads add 50c per serve

Half a can of refried beans, shared across two halves: 26c

Bacon is $5.49 for 10 slices or $1.10 per serve

2 oz of cheddar split between two is 50c per serve

Eggs are 55c each or 82.5c per serve (average).

Lunch today was a good quesadilla for $2.91 per serve.

Dinner

It turns out that the kedgeree that we’ve been having isn’t particularly authentic, so when Foodie Greg came across Jamie Oliver’s recipe for a more authentic kedgeree, we decided to give it a go, with our new favorite fish: smoked trout.

For us the recipe served two, but we used a lot less fish and about the same amount of rice, and we dropped the yoghurt and coriander.

The rainbow trout fillets are $7.49 or $3.75 per serve

Add 33c for basmati rice

Five kumato were $3.49 and we used 2, or 70c per serve

Add 25c for garlic, onion and ginger

Add 55c per serve for an egg

Add 25c for the remaining ingredients.

This kedgeree was very different from the Anglicized Kedgeree we’ve been cooking, but with the smoked trout this was exceptionally good for $5.83 per serve.